Transport for London (TfL) and London Councils have given the go-ahead for the London-wide ban, which will apply to trucks over 3.5 tonnes not fitted with additional safety equipment – including approved side guards Class V and Class VI mirrors – in a bid to protect cyclists and pedestrians.
The earlier public consultation received 90% support, and traffic orders implementing the scheme are currently being published, while police are trained and information campaigns start.
The truck and large van ban will apply to all roads in Greater London except motorways) and the scheme will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, enforced by the police, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and the joint TfL and DfT-funded Industrial HGV Taskforce (IHTF).
Maximum fine for each breach of the ban will be £1,000, with the offending operator referred to the relevant traffic commissioner where HGVs are concerned.
"We know that a large number of cyclist deaths and serious injuries involve a relatively small number of trucks and lorries that are not fitted with basic safety equipment," states Johnson.
"Such vehicles are not welcome in the capital and the Safer Lorry Scheme will see them effectively banned from our streets," he adds.
"London's lead in improving the safety and efficiency of freight has once again been demonstrated," comments London's transport commissioner Sir Peter Hendy CBE.
"The Safer Lorry Scheme is a fantastic example of the benefits of partnership working. The rogue minority of HGVs that operate on our roads without effective basic safety equipment will be forced to improve or be banned. This will save lives and ensure a level playing field for operators," he says.
And FTA (Freight Transport Association) head of policy for London Natalie Chapman says: "FTA is pleased to see that the necessary exemptions and concessions for the vehicles for which this equipment is either not possible or not legal have been included within the requirements of the London Safer Lorry Scheme."
Chapman also notes that compliance costs to the transport industry have been minimised by TfL's "sensible approach" to its implementation.
But she adds: "However, in principle we believe that this kind of blunt regulatory tool is not the best way to improve cyclist safety.
"We still think that the money and effort spent on this scheme would have been better spent on increased enforcement against the small proportion of lorries that don't comply with existing regulations."
HGVs are disproportionately represented in cyclist fatalities in the capital. Of the 14 cyclist deaths in London in 2013, nine involved HGVs. Although the number of serious collisions involving cyclists and HGVs in 2014 decreased, it remains one of TfL's targets to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in London by 40% over the next five years.